Wildberries launched the first stage of a large distribution center in Tatarstan
The largest online retailer in Russia, Wildberries, launched the first stage of a distribution center on the territory of the Zelenodolsk TASED industrial site. The warehouse complex has become the largest operating regional logistics center for Wildberries outside the Moscow region.
Let us recall that the construction of a large distribution center Wildberries in Zelenodolsk with a total area of 100 thousand square meters was launched in November 2019. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2019 - 2022. Today, the commissioning of the first stage with an area of 50 thousand square meters took place. The construction of a distribution center opens up an opportunity for Tatarstan manufacturers to directly sell their products through the online retailer's platform to other regions of Russia and abroad, which will reduce delivery costs.
The first stage of the distribution center was opened by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.
“The opening of a distribution center expands the opportunities for enterprises and suppliers to deliver products to the regions of Russia and beyond, and reduces transport and logistics costs for entrepreneurs. I am grateful to the Federal Government and the Single-Industry Towns Fund, without the support and participation of which such large-scale projects would have been impossible”, stressed the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.
It should be noted that the total amount of Wildberries investments in the project amounted to about 5 billion rubles. Responsible for the implementation of the investment project for the construction of the logistics complex was the company “VB VOSTOK” OOO. The implementation of the project became possible, among other things, thanks to the created engineering infrastructure of the Zelenodolsk industrial site, erected with the co-financing of the Single-Industry Towns Development Fund. Thus, at the expense of the МОНОГОРОДА.РФ Fund, transport and engineering infrastructure facilities were built for the Zelenodolsk industrial site in the amount of about 930 million rubles. More than 357 million rubles were allocated for the construction of the necessary infrastructure at the expense of the budget of the Republic of Tatarstan.
“Thanks to the construction of a new distribution center, 1,250 jobs have already been created, and after the construction is completed, this number will reach 4,000. In general, the Wildberries experience shows that Internet commerce in Russia, especially in the current situation, has great prospects,” Stats-Secretary - Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Viktor Evtukhov said.
The founder and General Director of Wildberries, Tatyana Bakalchuk, emphasized that the company is actively expanding cooperation with entrepreneurs of Tatarstan, as one of the most important regions of the country with a favorable business climate and high-quality products from local producers, which are so loved in our country and abroad.
“In January - July 2020, the turnover of entrepreneurs from Tatarstan on Wildberries increased 4.5 times to 900 million rubles, and over 3 years the turnover increased 28 times. Our online platform employs over 500 entrepreneurs and companies from the region who sell clothing, footwear, accessories, beauty products, food and much more. We invite self-employed people to cooperation. Today Wildberries operates, in addition to Russia, in 6 more countries, which means that our sellers can offer their products in all regions of our presence”, said the General Director of Wildberries.
Earlier, during a briefing on implementation of support programs and creation of conditions for doing business, the Minister of Economy Midkhat Shagiakhmetov stressed that the crisis in the economy showed that the strategy for the development of Internet commerce chosen by the republic was timely.
“I would like to note that during the period of self-isolation, a two-fold increase in republican sellers on online trading platforms was recorded, currently there are more than 2,000 of them”, the Minister said.
It should be noted that implementation of large-scale investment projects in the e-commerce sphere in Tatarstan testifies to the presence in the republic of a favorable environment for the development of e-commerce. This is largely facilitated by the course taken by the leadership of the republic to improve the infrastructure of the region: engineering, logistics, digital. As well as assistance from the Single-Industry Towns Development Fund in terms of creating the conditions for doing business necessary for potential investors.
“When new investors come to a single-industry town, it's always a big event. This is a huge joint work of the republic, the city team and the Fund. To make Zelenodolsk the most attractive for business, МОНОГОРОДА.РФ built a transport and engineering infrastructure for the Zelenodolsk industrial site - that is, now entrepreneurs do not need to spend money on the road to the enterprise, on electricity, water, and heat supply networks. Nine investors have already connected to our infrastructure, and today we see bright results from one of them: the Wildberries company launched the first stage of a warehouse complex for 4,000 jobs. We are proud of such joint achievements”, said Irina Makiyeva, Deputy Chairman of VEB.RF, General Director of the Single-Industry Towns Development Fund.
Thanks to the opening of the distribution center, the delivery speed of Wildberries orders in Tatarstan will also increase. If earlier residents of the region received purchases within 2-3 days, now goods from the local warehouse will be delivered the next day. At the same time, online shopping in the republic is becoming more and more popular: the turnover of Wildberries in Tatarstan from January to July 2020 increased by 190% year-on-year, the growth in pieces was 270%. The most significant growth was noted in the categories “health” - 29 times, tools - 26 times, baby food and meal - 14 times, sports - 7 times and electronics - 6 times.